Waiting Game
by thatonegreenpencil
Summary: His life is coming apart. But if it was ripped at the seams in the first place, it's bound to, sometime or later. Gameverse.


**The Waiting Game**

**Warning: Some mature themes, major angst, hints of yaoi**

**Pokemon is not mine.**

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><p><em>The essential sadness is to go through life without loving,<em>

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><p>When Green is six, he roams around in the forest, pretending he has Pokemon and pretending he has friends that travel along with him in his make pretend adventures. Daisy often shakes her head and laughs, saying that his imagination would get the better of him someday.<p>

Red sometimes joins in, even though he isn't very good company. Mostly, he stands and watches silently as Green is lost in his imaginary world, where _he_ is the star of everything. Green sometimes invites Red to play as well, but he always declines. The spring feels fresh and new as he roams around in the wilderness of his backyard, always smiling mischievously as Red watches from the sidelines.

"Come on, Red! You can have a Pokemon, and we can battle together!"

Red only smiles in response and tilts his head toward the eleven-year-old that are going into the lab. "I can wait."

"What's the fun in that?" Green sneers, and goes off to play some more. Red only watches calmly, sipping the tall glass of milk by his hand.

After awhile, the sun starts to get scorching hot, and both boys go inside. They sit on the couch, watching the PokeVenture movies while munching on popcorn and spitting it back out at the funny parts.

"Say, Red?"

"Hm?" Red replies.

"We're gonna be friends forever, all the way to the championships, right?"

Red stares in response. It takes a moment for him to answer, and when he does, there's a cautious tone in his voice. "Right."

"What do you wanna be?"

Red takes another handful of popcorn and shoves it into his mouth so he doesn't have to answer. Green doesn't give him a chance either way. "I wanna be the Pokemon champion!" he declares, smirking. "You can follow me, 'cause you'll always be the loser."

Green doesn't say this in a mean way, but more of a teasing way. Red shoves him playfully and it erupts into a full tickle fight which is only broken when both boys fall down to the ground in laughter, movie forgotten.

Later, they are found by Daisy, curled up on the couch in the cutest way possible, their bodies supporting the other.

_(One)_

Eight. They're eight, and Green is getting snobbier than ever. Claiming that Red is 'a loser' and that he is the winner. But their friendship still stays strong, somehow.

One hot, summer day Green tries to convince Red to go into the tall grass where the Pokemon loom, waiting, hidden. When Red refuses, Green calls him a scaredy-cat and runs into the grass by himself. There he gets clobbered by a flock of Pidgey when Green trespasses onto their territory. Bleeding, hungry, and scared, he stumbles into the grass, desperate.

A bright searchlight shines onto his face, and there are shouts of 'He's here, he's here!' among the grass. The town police lift him up and brings him to Daisy, where she hugs him until he's out of breath.

Red.

There's a smug look on his face, clearly saying, "Who's the loser now?" Green goes pink with rage. But before he can scream, he catches sight of his grandfather's face and the color is drained.

The stern, disapproving look. The glance of jealousy and envy at Red. Green doesn't even get a 'what were you thinking' speech for his troubles. No, "are you okay?" No, "never do that again". Just disapproval.

_(Two)_

Ten is a curious age, and it wasn't any different for Green, Red, and the newly added person to their now-trio, Leaf. Ten is the age where you start to prepare yourself for reality. Ten is the age where you stop the games of pretend and fantasy, and open up your mind to new possibilities. It's the age where you learn that the world isn't fair.

Green learned exactly that.

Grandfather is busy, often leaving him alone to make his own meals. Daisy is gone too, helping out at the Pokemon day-care or organizing documents for Bill, the person who invented the Pokemon Storage System. Red is often off with Leaf, having a quiet conversation with her that Green doesn't understand, and gets bored, and leaves. There's a tinge of jealousy in the back of his heart, and he knows it.

This jealousy grows with each movie he watches alone, with every meal he cooks in the microwave (still cold), with every glance his grandfather gives Red when he thinks Green's not looking.

He's gotten into the habit of taking all this out on Red, who doesn't react at all. Not when he sneers and calls him a loser, not when he calls him a coward.

One day, the argument goes out of control.

It starts with a simple thing; who wants what starter. Green says Eevee, because it's his favorite Pokemon. Leaf decides she likes all Pokemon, and Green rolls his eyes and tells her that she couldn't like _all_ Pokemon; she has to choose one.

"Well, that's not fair!" Leaf shouts, getting into Green's face. Leaf, in pure outrage, calls him heartless. The jealousy that's been building up all this time explodes, causing him to punch Leaf in the jaw. She coughs out red liquid and starts to cry. The red liquid soaks into the green of grass, and he's sickened. But what comes out instead is a laugh.

"Crybaby!" he sneers. Suddenly, the wind is knocked out of his form and he falls to the ground face-first. Red is standing there, his fist clenched, knuckles white. "Stop being such a bully! She didn't do anything!" Red's never shouted before. Apparently Red himself realizes this and regains his calm.

Not Green, though.

"Oh yeah, take her side!" Green shouts, his face getting redder by the minute. "You always do, after all!"

"You know what, I changed my mind. I pick Bulbasaur. Now stop fighting!" Leaf begs, trying to get in between the two boys. Both of them push her out, making her cry.

Jealousy, perhaps? Hatred? No, not really hate. But something like it.

"You know, I don't even know why I became friends with you in the first place!" Green snaps, leering. "You're such a loser and a coward; I don't know why I even bother!"

"I don't know either." Red says. "You only care about yourself. You think the world spins just because of you. It was spinning long before you came, and will continue spinning long after you're gone."

This reply only makes Green even madder. _Brainiac! He thinks that he's so great, we'll see when he comes crying and begging at my feet when I'm champion!_

"You're just jealous! Of me, and all I've got! You have nothing!"

Green's heart replies, _No. He's got everything. You're the one who's got nothing._

Red's eyes flash angrily, and a growl starts up deep down in his throat. Leaf has to hold him back when he takes a step forward. Her motions are feeble in this argument, really. To Green, it's nothing more than sticks on the ground. To Red, it's something much more. But still, it doesn't stop Red from saying his last few words.

"Yeah, well, at least I've got more sense than you. At least I'm not a stuck-up nobody that's invisible to my family."

There's a long silence. Even the Pidgey stop their chirps and calls, sensing the tense aura in the air.

"Someday, you're both going to lose to me. We'll see who's making smart remarks then." Green turns, not meeting gazes with anything except the ground. "I'm going home."

Both Red and Leaf are still, even as the other walks away. For a moment, Leaf considers the idea of slapping him. But she doesn't.

Red starts walking away too, and Leaf grabs his arm. "Red!-"

He shrugs her away. "I know."

Leaf can't help but notice the hint of regret in his eyes.

_(Three)_

"What do you mean I can't get a Pokemon?"

Green has his arms crossed, glaring at his grandfather whose gaze remains steady. "I mean, that Daisy and I think you're not ready yet. Not ready for the responsibility."

Emerald eyes flash when the boy takes a step in resistance. "Well, what about Red then, hm? _He's _allowed to get a Pokemon, why not me?"

"Because he's-"

"_Red._" Green hisses. "Because he's oh-so-perfect Red and _I'm not him._" The professor shakes his head.

"That wasn't what I was going to say."

"I don't _care._ I know that you were _thinking_ it."

The suspicion is confirmed when the other man doesn't answer. Green throws up his arms and begins to walk out. "I don't care what you or Daisy has to say! I'm going anyways, and nobody's gonna stop me!"

That night, Green packs all his things quickly, stuffing everything he's got into a little backpack.

_I'll show them! _

His hand bumps into a picture. A bit worn-out, but the image is still clear. A smiling Red in the right, Leaf sticking her tongue out on the left, a person he doesn't recognize (anymore) in the middle, grinning, but not at the camera.

Green wants to throw that picture away, but when he tries to, invisible strings tug on his heart, preventing his hand from moving any farther than the rim of the trash can. He curses, but stuffs it into his pocket, hoping he'll somehow lose it.

His dreams are rough; not the best omens before you go out on a Pokemon journey. They're little images; a pokemon dead, lying still on the round covered with a scarlet liquid. He reaches out to touch it, in sheer curiosity, but it shatters right before his eyes. He screams.

Green pushes all that doubt away in the morning, when he wakes up. He can't remember why he was so afraid, why he was so scared. His heart is flying. _I'm leaving today._

When he steps into the lab, however, his heart thumps right back to the ground when he sees that Red is one step ahead of him, as always. He scowls. The professor ignores this and, instead, greets him with a (fake) smile. "Ah, Green! There you are! Leaf's already chosen, and-"

The man's sentence is finished with a crash as Green leaps on Red. "Don't! That's _mine_. I want it!"

Red hands the Pokeball over without complaining, but it's Professor Oak that seems more mad than Red will ever be. There's a storm of disapproval in his eyes, and Green visibly winces.

There's no ice in his voice when he speaks, though. "Ah, I was going to give that to Red, but... I guess he'll have Pikachu then..."

Pikachu turns out to be an electric rat that doesn't even obey his trainer. When Green challenges Red to a battle, his Eevee is graceful while Pikachu just sits on the floor stubbornly while Red tries to coax it into battle.

"Pathetic!" Green smirks as Eevee stirs her tail scornfully. Like Pokemon, like trainer, right?

Apparently, this also applies for Pikachu. Its eyes get dangerously narrow and electricity jump from its red cheeks. "_Pika!"_

"Pikachu, thundershock!"

The force of the attack is so powerful that it slams Eevee to the wall behind Green; an instant one-hit KO. The stupid rat seems very smug. So does the professor, no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

Green's fists clench and unclench as he recalls Eevee with obvious distaste. Now he's regretting his decision. Red notices this. Green recalls his words.

_You only care about yourself._

"I took it easy on you today, I won't next time!" Green lies. He _was_ giving it his best today. He's just not... just not...

Green runs, just so he can't see Red's eternal stare, just so he can't he his grandfather's pride at his rival. The single Pokeball on his belt bursts, and out comes Eevee, battered but still standing. She mews pitifully, and he picks her up.

Then he glares at her.

"You were so _weak!_ How could you embarrass me like that?"

But it's not her fault. This is wrong. She mews again, confusion this time. Green laughs. _It's raining_. He thinks, watching the dark stains of water falling onto Eevee's fur. Why is his vision so blurry? Must be the rain.

"Come on, let's get out of this rain." Eevee glances at him in confusion, but doesn't complain when they settle down between some dense bushes and eat bits of crackers and cookies.

You think Green doesn't love his Pokemon? Maybe he doesn't. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care for them.

_(Four)_

He keeps on challenging Red. He always loses, but he likes to pretend that he's winning.

_(Five)_

It was the greatest feeling. That last hit, the sound of Lance's Dragonite falling to the ground. Beautiful in Green's ears. As his Pokemon were getting healed, he daydreamed about the life as a champion, the life as a _legend_.

"Sir-"

"The press is here already?" he asks the attendant lazily.

She shakes her head. "No, sir, a challenger."

Green shakes his head. Already? "What's his name?"

"R-Red, sir."

Green bolts to an upright position, the Eevee on his lap almost falling onto the ground. Ignoring the Pokemon's agitated hiss, he grabs his Pokeballs (aren't even fully healed) and heads straight to the challenger.

_He'll lose. He'll definitely lose. He always does._

Ten minutes later, he's on his last Pokemon. Pikachu is wiped out, but still growling. Eevee is barely holding on, its breaths coming in rapid gasps. Both Pokemon's teeth are bared in a growl, both Pokemon holding on. Both of them are too weak to make another move. Both trainers know this.

_Ah, the classic waiting game._

One second. Two second. Three seconds. Four.

Thump.

Eevee stumbles, trying to hang on, not wanting to give in. There's red starting to ooze out between its scratches. A hand grips Green's heart.

Scarlet. Touch. Break.

"Give up, Eevee," Green chokes out. Eevee turns her head weakly, not believing what she just heard.

"Give up, Eevee!" Green says louder. He sees the amazement in Red's eyes, as well as Pikachu's. The electric Pokemon starts to carefully tip-toe up to its opponent, who's now on the ground, whimpering. Before Pikachu can make contact, Green scoops Eevee up in his arms and gives a little smile.

_Smoke_

"Congrats, Red. I knew you'd beat me."

"Green-"

_and_

"Champion for fifteen minutes, must be a new record," he laughs.

"Green-"

_Mirrors_

"Well, you came through, I kind of-"

"You dropped something."

Green turns, and, to his horror, it's the picture. Of Red, of Leaf, of _him_; happy. Really, truly happy.

Wasn't he supposed to lose that? Why hasn't he lost it?

After he sets Eevee on his shoulder, Green takes the picture, smiling. Still smiling, not meeting eyes, he rips it into three pieces. Himself, Leaf, Red. Crumpling up one part and throwing it into the corner, he gives what's left to the _new_ champion.

Leaf. Red. Smiling. Together.

He leans to Red's ear in almost a creepy way and grins. He knows Red can feel that grin.

"That's how it's always been, right?" Green breathes. Without giving Red a chance to answer, he disappears in a flash of brown, out the door, out the building, passing Daisy (_Green?)_ and grandfather (heard that Red's champion, pride in his eyes, _good for him)_. His Pokemon are healed along the way, and Eevee is still on his shoulder when he exits. The cold wind nips at his face as he begins the trek home. All the while, Eevee licks his face comfortingly.

_(Six)_

He knows no one will be home. Everybody will be at the ceremony for the new champion. When he walks in, the emptiness comes to greet him at the door. They've been alone for too long.

"Hello there," whispers Green.

Green stays home, keeping the house company when Daisy and the professor are away. Eevee seems to be glad to be back home again. She prances along the rows of fences and nips at the littlest thing. Daisy fusses over him on most days, when she comes home early. It's nice to be cared for; and he realizes he's forgiven his sister for how she treated him in his younger years.

But there are still frets in the road. Green tries to avoid Leaf as much as possible whenever she comes home. He doesn't answer her phone calls, he doesn't reply to her messages. Red is easy, because he never comes down from his champion duties.

As for his grandfather? Simple. Green locks himself up in the basement when he comes home.

_(Seven)_

"Eeveeee."

"Stop that."

Daisy rolls her eyes. "Eevee's clearly telling you to get up and get out. You haven't been outside for ages."

"Three months," he corrects.

Daisy snorts. "Well, if you want to be precise, you haven't been outside of Pallet Town in two years. And whenever Leaf comes, you run away somewhere like a little kid. You're not a little kid anymore, Green. This is the real world, where you can lose sometimes, where you can-"

"It's not about the championship."

"Then what _is_ it about, hm?" Daisy throws her hands up and proceeds to walk out of the room. "You need to start living your life again. Get your head straight."

"I don't-"

But he's just arguing with empty air.

_(Eight)_

The news has been frantically reporting about the missing Pokemon champion that is rumored to have gone to . For an 'extra' challenge, that is. Green turns the TV off as soon as the reporter mentions Red's name, so he doesn't even hear the full report.

There's also been news that, since Giovanni is gone, the Earth Badge has no leader.

_You need to start living your life again._

Eevee curls up by his side, contently swishing her tail around his arm. He strokes her, making her purr a bit.

"You're not a Meowth," he whispers, running his fingers through her soft fur. He looks at the paper in his hand again.

'_VIRIDIAN GYM LEADER TRYOUTS TOMORROW'_

Maybe he can't be the champion, but still, he can be among the best.

_(Nine)_

Green's got the job.

His heart soars when he's handed the key to the gym. The judges praise him for a great performance.

"You are truly Professor Oak's grandson."

His happiness fades a bit at that. _I don't want to be a shadow._

But really, he can't complain. A tired but happy Eevee jumps on his shoulder as he enters the gym, _his_ gym, and feels a rush of pride at all he's won. "Good job," he says to no one in particular.

But being a gym leader means losing. A lot. Disappointing, really. He trains on the bottom floor (wait, the gym has multiple levels?). The rest of his Pokemon seem to like it here, and that's good enough for Green.

_If I'm going to lose, I'll make sure I get one heck of a fun battle while I do._

He smirks.

Proof that he's changed. That's what it is.

_(Ten)_

"I heard you got the gym leader title in Viridian. Congrats!"

"Well, nothing really," Green replies, a bit embarrassed. Daisy can hear this, even on the phone, and he can hear her smirking.

"Oh, the great-Green-Oak is _embarrassed?_ Give me a break, Green. I thought you'd be bragging and boasting by now. To _everyone. _Does grandpa know yet?

That strikes a chord in Green and his tone gets visibly sharper. "Well, he doesn't need to, too busy wrapped up on his experiments and all."

Daisy is silent again. "Green, I know grandpa didn't really care for you, but he was busy, so was I. You forgave me, why can't you-"

"That's not it."

Daisy sighs, before cheering up a bit and changing the subject. "How many trainers have gotten the badge from you?"

"None," he smirks, a bit more cheerfully. "The trainers aren't as tough as I suspected. Most of them get beaten by the other trainers or get confused by the arrows."

"You must be happy."

"Gives me more free time, anyway."

There's a sparkling laugh at the other end. "You haven't told Leaf yet, have you?" She has the sense not to mention Red.

Green plays with the cord of the phone. "She's busy in Sinnoh, and the phone calls cost too much."

"Email, then?"

Arcanine strikes down strikes down Pidgeot with a well-placed Fire Fang, but the flames are so hot that Green has to back away a bit. That gives him time to think of an answer. "I don't know her email. She doesn't know mine. If she wanted to know, she would've asked before."

"_Are _you happy, Green?"

The question is quite sudden, and it tips him off-balance. "I told you, didn't I? I have my own gym, I make a fair amount of money-"

"You didn't answer it properly. Are you really happy? You don't seem to have much friends that contact you or anything."

Pidgeot is on the verge of fainting, he notices, giving him the perfect excuse. "Um, listen, I have to go. I'll call you later, okay?"

_"_Green-"

An endless beep finishes her sentence.

_(Eleven)_

One day, he decides he has to visit. So he packs all his supplies (plus some extra ones, for him), gets the warmest clothes he can get, makes sure that Eevee is slung over his shoulder (as always) and rides the air currents to .

When Green arrives, he's greeted by a wave of wind that smashes snow at his face. It isn't the best first impression, but it's an informing one. The snow blows even harder, forcing him to accept that he can't fly up. His mind is telling him to turn away, go back. His heart says otherwise.

Never mind the snow that brushes past his face and sticks onto chocolate-brown hair. Never mind the shaking Eevee around his neck.

One step. Two steps. He's climbing the mountain. All the way to the top.

_(Twelve)_

By the fourth day, he's wondering whether if this is a good idea or not.

Green tries his best to get Eevee back into top condition again. She's shivering, absorbing the little warmth the fire has to offer. Green eyes gaze to the snow that's pelting down, getting higher and higher.

_Red did it._

He's been following in Red's footsteps. He always has been. But the flame of competition that's been gone for so long returns, lighting the courage in his soul.

He rouses Eevee, who complains but follows. She has sensed a change as well. A good change.

Both can hardly see a foot in front of themselves, but that's alright.

_(Thirteen)_

"Green."

The champion looks so alone at the top of the mountain where he has nothing to protect him from the cold storms except a lone sweater and a Pikachu. But despite all the snow, his scarlet eyes are as clear as ever.

Green just stares. Without a word, he turns to the little crevice in which Red was staying in. The thump of cloth hitting rock seems to satisfy him and he turns again, to proceed back down the mountain.

Eevee whines in protest, looking back at the champion, and then at her trainer. This couldn't be all that they had come for. This couldn't be.

"Green."

His voice is hoarse, compared to the smooth, clear tone Green had grown so used to.

A hand grips his shoulder, and, on impulse, he pushes it away. A flash of red darts by his eyes, and he has to do everything to look away. There's a small 'pika' of protest, but it's faint. Too faint. Without a word, he picks the yellow mouse from Red's shoulders. It's too warm.

"What... have you done?" These words are the first that tumble from his mouth, rather than, "I missed you," or "I was worried about you."

"You used to care so much."

"We've both changed," Red responds.

"Your Pikachu is sick."

"I don't have supplies."

Pikachu squirms against his grip, fever imitating from its tiny body. This causes Green to rage even more. "Why didn't you come down from the stupid mountain, then?"

"I...I..."

Green still doesn't meet his gaze. He lets go of Pikachu, and tosses a bottle of potion toward the general direction of where he suspects the champion to stand. The champion. Not friend, not rival, and defiantly not Red. _Champion._

"You've changed too much."

Two hands on his shoulder force the gym leader to turn around and make eye contact with pools of red.

"Look at me."

The tone is desperate, pleading. Heartbreaking. But still, he turns away. The snow swirls around them, creating a silent painting in the ground.

For a fraction of a second, Green's lips move the slightest bit, but whatever words that would've been heard are lost in the depths of the snow. Dark stains are covered, stepped on by the teen's hurried footsteps.

It doesn't matter anymore.

_(Fourteen)_

When did he start loving Red? He ponders that idea, right after he realizes he _does_ love Red. In what way? He doesn't know.

Eevee's soft fur digs into his shoulder. She is still confused. He knows. Green mumbles into her fur reassuringly. His gym is closed for today. His excuse to himself is 'to let the trainers rest', but he knows that that's not it. Waiting. For that one phone call.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

But he can't. His hands are frozen, unable to move. To help her trainer, the evolution pokemon nudges the vibrating device. Green doesn't bother. The caller ID says 'Daisy'.

It stops ringing. After a moment of silence, it starts ringing again. This time, Green picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Green."

"What is it?" His sister's serious tone catches him off-balance.

"It's-It's... It's Red."

_(Fifteen)_

The champion looks horrible.

No, he hasn't been to the hospital to see him. No, he hasn't even asked how he is. He's only figured this out from the various newspapers that are having a field day over this.

Every one of them, he throws out.

Green doesn't really know _why_ he's avoiding Red. Pride. Disgust. Embarrassment. Who knows? Maybe the fear that...that...

Leaf is there. That he knows even without the newspapers. In the darkness of his room, there's a glimmer of teeth, laughing. They're perfect for each other. Always were.

The laughter changes into coughs. Coughs change into hacks. Scarlet stains the white.

Red's gone back to Mt. Silver. He's still running the gym. Sometimes his legs give out and he somehow ends up on the floor during the middle of a battle, wondering how he got there. His pokemon still fight without orders, but glances at him worriedly. The other trainer is too immersed in the battle to even care, which he's glad for. He coughs away in the middle of the night, and the blood sometimes flows out without stopping. But Green doesn't tell. Without him, who would run the gym? And Daisy's got enough to worry about. (Grandfather sick. Never cared. Why should _he?_)

Who would bring the supplies to Red every Saturday?

Yes. That's what he does. In the middle of the night (muffling his coughs with an already blood-soaked scarf) he sneaks into the cave and places a bit more to the already huge supplies pile. It's not _big_, but it's not small either. Perfect. Beads of wine red sometimes fall to the ground, which he carefully covers up with the ever-fresh snow. Is it just him, or are the beads getting darker every week?

Leaf's finally figured out his email, but she's away at Hoenn to get new Pokemon and badges alike. She likes to take pictures and send them to him, but Green never opens them, for the fear of that sudden nostalgia. At least she's not here to bother him.

Or worry about him.

All of Green's Pokemon notices the changes. The sudden stagger in his casual stride, the slight weakness in his voice. How early he goes to sleep, and then wake up in the middle of the night. Sometimes Eevee slips into his room without his noticing, and he only discovers her when he wakes up coughing. More than enough times, he's found a blood-covered Eevee snoring softly away on his bed. Those days Green shouts at her, more out of fear than anything. Ears flat, tail down, she walks out.

Then she comes back.

What is he now, nineteen? His birthdays are often passed by, so it's hard to remember. Green's not really afraid of being forgotten. No. That's already happened. What he is afraid of is when he'll stop remembering. Nightmares sometimes haunt his dreams, his grandfather's disappointed face swimming in and out of every one of them, sometimes along with Leaf and Daisy. Eevee's body a statue, pale, cold.

A flash of red at the end every time. _Every. Time._

_(Sixteen)_

The madness strikes after the funeral. Professor Oak has passed.

Green is the only one who doesn't feel any grief at all. Instead, he's filled with rage. Rage that he couldn't ever make his grandfather smile, or laugh, or even give him a pat on the back. The gym is closed for a couple of weeks.

He spends those days in solitude, ignoring the pleading calls from Daisy, or the pity talks from Leaf. With trembling hands, he grabs every single scrap of food from the kitchen and transports them to his bedroom where he locks the door. The TV is also moved. Most of the day is spent watching the old PokeVenture videos. The clips, even though old, seem fresh and new to him. He laughs hysterically during parts that aren't meant to be funny, and cries at the action-filled parts; all while coughing and sputtering, struggling to catch his breath.

The nights are blank voids of nothingness. A period of time filled with only violent coughs and harsh breathing, combined with the stare his grandfather is giving him from the corner. They are filled with utter disappointment.

_Is this what you've become?_

Eevee whines at the door, desperate to know what he's doing. She scratches, growls, barks; but in the end, she doesn't get anywhere.

He still makes the trips to . He shouldn't, really, but who else would? The mountain gets steeper and steeper, and he's getting weaker and weaker. That's never a good thing.

One day, he collapses. The whirling feeling of the world around him spins by as his legs give out to the loss of feeling.

_(Seventeen)_

Green wakes up by a fire. It makes him want to fall back to sleep, but he manages to struggle against his instincts and get up.

"You didn't visit me."

Green freezes. Instead of confronting the voice, he lies back down, closing his eyes. He's soon hauled back up by a series of violent coughs. His sleeve covers his mouth, so the champion wouldn't be able to see the hurt.

"But you still cared."

Pikachu hops into the bend of his elbow and stays there, a fuzzy yellow ball, healthy and content. There is none of that hostile feeling that was there a few years back.

"You save him. You saved _me._"

Now he has to look up. Even though it was stated as a statement, there's a hint of a question there, somewhere. Green does, but doesn't meet Red's eyes. "Leaf asked."

One second. Two seconds. Three. Four.

_The classic waiting game._

This time, Red loses. There's pure joy in that itself.

"I see. You can leave whenever."

For some reason, there used to be a tiny smudge of hope in the champion's voice, but now it's gone. Flat and dull is what it is.

But the love's gone. Too late.

_(Eighteen)_

When Green leaves the next morning, he sees no signs of Red. He doesn't see the drops of scarlet he's left behind, either.

_(Nineteen)_

Leaf and Red get married. A heart-covered invitation comes to his house, but he can't even make it to the door. He spends his days and nights at the gym, so he doesn't have to walk up and down those horrid stairs. More and more trainers defeat him. He just hopes they think it's a fair loss.

_(Twenty)_

"Green, are you okay? Please tell me you're okay. Green? _Green?"_

_(Twenty-one)_

His skin starts to get pale. The gym is closed often, but he makes the excuse that he's traveling. The locals get mad, but they can't get _too_ mad. After all, he's been a good gym leader for years.

Green never gets in touch with the other gym leaders, but he has no choice when he decides to call Whitney to get some Moomoo milk. But he hesitates to pick up the phone. His pride won't let him.

_You're killing yourself._

That's fine with him.

_(Twenty-two)_

Green's life is falling apart, and there's nothing he can do to stop it anymore. He knows that it's the end. The images don't stop coming, don't stop moving, even out of his dreams. He wakes up crying to his grandfather, repeating the phrase, "Did I make you proud yet? Did I?" until he starts coughing again. If his grandfather was here, he'd be sadder than ever. He wouldn't be proud. Green likes to think that he would be, just to make himself feel better.

He can't help but feel that his life never begun. But he can start it now.

Just this once.

_(Twenty-three)_

"Hey, Red?"

"G-_Green? _Where are you? Everyone is-"

"Just come and battle with me. _Please_. I-I'm begging you."

"I will."

_(Twenty-four)_

The old cap is back on, but no longer that serious expression, but a confused and worried one. Green ignores the little details (tries to) and sends out his first Pokemon. He's out of practice, but that doesn't stop him. The cries and screeches of both Pokemon do well to drown out the coughs he produces.

He can't feel Red's gaze on him.

_(Twenty-five)_

After tense, heated minutes, they're down to their two last Pokemon. Pikachu and Eevee. Like the old times. The air is filled with beams of light and electricity.

"Eevee, Iron Tail!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

The two collide with the other, and bounce back, panting hard. They both know...

_Ah, the classic waiting game._

One second. Legs get weak. Two seconds. Start to cough. Three seconds. Drops of scarlet.

He falls before Eevee does.

Red screams something totally unnoticeable to him. But what counts is that the first time in years, he meets those beaming red eyes.

And smiles.

_(Game over)_

* * *

><p><strong><em>(Epilogue)<em>**

Pallet town is as quiet as ever, except the mock-airplane sounds as a little boy with the hair of chocolate plays with little toys the size of his fists. Another boy runs out to join the other boy. The chocolate haired boy's never seen this boy before. Charcoal hair that's under a hat. Something's wrong though. The eyes. They're... supposed to be red, right?

That's when he begins to suspect that he's crazy. He greets the other boy with a scorn, but the kid just shakes it off like it's nothing and extends a hand.

"My name's Ash!"

_'My name's... Red.'_

"I'm Gary!" the brunette boasts loudly. "_I'm_ the grandson of Professor Oak! You better not forget it!"

It's funny, isn't it?

* * *

><p><em>But it would be almost equally sad to leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you love them.<em>

* * *

><p>AN This is one of the saddest and longest one-shots I've ever come up with. I've been reading some originalshipping fics and I love the pairing now.

Did Green love Red in this story? I don't know.


End file.
